Tennessee Man Swindles Elderly Woman Out of Nearly $20K

By Scott Sarvay

Brian Eric Schendel

September 6, 2012 Updated Sep 6, 2012 at 12:01 PM EDT

Kosciusko County, Ind. (Indiana’s NewsCenter) – A Tennessee man is behind bars, accused of stealing almost $20,000 from an elderly Mentone woman.

The Kosciusko County Sheriff’s Department says that over the past year Brian Eric Schendel, 37, of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, exploited the kindness of a 79-year-old woman by stealing between $15,000-20,000.

Detectives stated that during the month of August of 2011, Schendel had sold an automobile to the woman. Schendel then continued to make contact with the buyer and told her that he had been in the military, was injured, and needed money.

Over that past year she was coerced into sending him cash and money orders to locations in Mississippi and Tennessee.

Although using another alias in the Tennessee, Oak Ridge authorities were able to help locate Schendel and take him into custody until detectives from Kosciusko County could arrive to retrieve him.

Schendel is currently in the Kosciusko County Jail with a $5,000 bond.




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